Month: February 2013

Port Orchard on a Quiet Day

Although the sun spent all last Friday ducking behind clouds, it was a little brighter than it was at Theler when I got to Port Orchard. I was greeted by this female Hooded Merganser

female Hooded Merganser

as I walked down the ramp into the marina.

Unfortunately it wasn’t very birdy and the sunshine didn’t last much beyond this first shot. The dominant bird was the over-photographed Grebes I’ve featured lately.

I spent most of my time trying to get better shots of the Male Hooded Mergansers. A few years ago I would have been thrilled by the shots I got, but now that I’ve gotten spoiled, this was the only shot I even kept,

Hooded Merganser with Shrimp

mainly because the shrimp in its beak shows just how small these birds really are. I get so used to seeing the bird through a telephoto lens or blown up on a computer that I forget just how small a Hooded Merganser really is. Plus, I learned that they don’t dine exclusively on small fish.

Maybe It’s Spring

Our recent two-day heat spell almost convinced me that the worst of Winter is over and Spring is near. Since duck hunting season is finally over and I haven’t been to Belfair for a while, I decided to start there. Of course, the promised sun never made its appearance, but the number of songbirds at the beginning of the walk seemed to confirm that Spring has nearly sprung.

I spent nearly fifteen minutes trying to capture shots of little brown birds flitting from branch to branch, all the time loudly advertising their presence. This Bewick’s Wren seemed to be the boldest of them, and I was able to get several good shots.

Bewick’s Wren

I was a little surprised to get two good shots of a Bewick’s Wren on the same memory card since I’ve managed very few good shots of them in the six years I’ve been birding. That made me wonder if they are Spring migrants around here and if that would explain why I’ve managed to get my best shots early in the year. A little internetting revealed they are actually year-long residents here in the Pacific Northwest, so there has to be another explanation of why I’ve gotten my best shots in late Winter/early Spring. Perhaps the males are more territorial this time of year, even when it comes to photographers. If so, I’m sorry I didn’t pretend to be more intimidated.

I also managed to get a shot of the equally elusive Ruby-Crowned Kinglet,

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

even though I only managed to get a single shot of this one. My next shot was of a beautiful, bare branch.

There were also large flocks of another favorite, the elegant Northern Pintail.

male Northern Pintail

A little more internetting revealed that these are the earliest of the Spring-migrating ducks, so at least someone else thinks it’s looking a little like Spring.

Unfortunately, there’s still very little new plant growth to indicate that it might be Spring, though there was a little green showing in some of the reeds on the edge of the creek.

Great Blue Heron

At the very least, the shot gave me reason to reflect on the possibility that Spring is near.

Perhaps the prettiest green of the day was found on these Green-Winged Teal,

Green-Winged Teal pair

another Spring migrant.

In the end, of course, the Illusion of Spring is probably more important for my mental health than the actual advent of Spring.

A Break in the Clouds

The weather has been so bad lately and I’ve been so focused on reading Robert Lax that I totally forgot that I managed to get out and shoot some pictures on one of those days when the sunshine actually showed itself for a short period. Since I completely missed the sunshine at Port Orchard the last sunny day, I decided to head out there first in hopes of getting some shots in the sun.

No such luck. Even though I left Tacoma in full sunshine, it was almost completely fogged in when I got to Port Orchard.

Sun through the Fog

There’s a reason the Husky mascot is named “Sun-Dodger.” You can never really count on sunshine around here during the winter, and forecasts are seldom right — unless they predicting rain.

Still, I managed to get at least one shot I liked in what little sun did show up.

Horned Grebe

I love the bluish-green water in this shot of a Horned Grebe in non-breeding colors.

On the way out of town I got so close to this Great Blue Heron that it was nearly impossible not to get a good shot,

Great Blue Heron on Dock

especially after I adjusted it in Photoshop. This is almost what a great blue heron would look like on a sunny day.

Ironically, it was still sunny when I got back to Tacoma, though the clouds were starting to move in there, too. I decided to stop at Titlow, where I managed to get this year’s first shot of a Bewick Wren.

Bewick Wren

It was still sunny as I neared home, so I couldn’t resist driving down to the boathouse since there’ s no excuse for missing any sunshine when you’re retired.

There weren’t too many birds around, but I enjoyed watching the Barrow’s Goldeneye who seem to be starting to pair off

Pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye

and try to pair off,

Barrow’s Goldeneye courting

though this female seemed to be indifferent to both suitors.

I probably forgot these were in the camera because there’s nothing too memorable about them, but I did like the shot of the grebe and I enjoyed the break from the gym and the black-and-white world of books.